Drown [Eric Coulter] Divergent

Part XXIII

XXIII

"I'd love to change the world

But I don't know what to do

So I'll leave it up to you"

"I'd Love To Change The World" -Jetta

The sun peered through the roof of the pit, but Carson didn't stop there to talk to Harper. They were headed in a direction Harper had never gone before, and they had long bypassed the gym. It was not, apparently, a safe enough topic to discuss anywhere. Harper began to think they were going to climb up an old, abandoned building like her and Eliza always did when they needed to talk, or maybe even go to Carson's apartment to talk. They just kept going, until they were outdoors. Loud noises filled Harper's ears, trucks delivering food and clothing, among other things, and some trucks were being loaded up and shipped out to other factions. They worked together like a perfect set of gears, each one needed every other faction to survive, and Harper had to wonder what they were going to do if they took out Abnegation. The world would become colder, crueller, darker.

They walked towards the fence, and Carson touched it with her gloved hands. She peered out through to the other side, the emptiness that it was. Vast, nothingness. Her eyes were filled with so much, her head was filled with twice as much as her eyes. She had been holding so much in for a short while, but the Candor inside of her was desperate to see where people stood. If she was going to train Harper, she had to know that she was on the right side. There were whispers in the air, and Carson had been noticing things that could not be overlooked, so she had begun digging.

"Things are going to change soon," Carson began. "The factions are on the brink, the breaking point."

Harper already knew, but could she guarantee her safety if she told Carson? She stayed silent and waited for Carson to say more.

"We are all going to have to choose sides, what is wrong and what is right." Carson had seen a rise in suspicious deaths, and when she discovered Harper's father had died of what appeared to be allergies, she knew that Harper was closer to the situation than she was aware. "Before I take you on, I need to lay everything out, I need to know where you stand. And if you disagree with me, I understand, but I won't take you on."

"I understand." Harper didn't know what side Carson was on, but she hoped that it was the right one.

Carson placed her hand on Harper's shoulder and tightened her grip, "Have you heard of the term Divergent?"

Harper let out a breath; Carson didn't know everything, but it appeared that she knew more about the Divergent side of things, and perhaps could explain to Harper what it all meant. And Harper could then put it together with the potential slaughter of Abnegation, and she could figure it all out before it happened. "Recently, I've heard it mentioned a few times."

A cloud covered the sun briefly, and it was immediately colder; it signalled that fall was on its way, and the days were going to become shorter, colder, food would be less extravagant as it became harder for Amity to produce for the factions. Abnegation would still give extra food to the Factionless, and Erudite would still grimace at the idea of giving away what was rightfully belonging to people who fit into the factions.

"Well, it scares leaders of the factions. They love to control us, they love to make sure we fit into one category, separated from others who might inspire ideas of a better way of life. There has been a skyrocket of suspicious deaths, your father's was the one that got me to search. I think they are killing off Divergents' to keep everything running smoothly." She shook her head. "I'm not a fool, I can pinpoint a Divergent quite easily after all this time training."